Tactical Deception
by Panic Abandon
Summary: More buttons needed pushing and more chaos needed stirring. Comfort in Konoha was always an illusion, but Sasuke was sure his latest pain of a companion was very real. Sasu/OC Rated M for future shenanigans.
1. Enter: Uchiha Nagisa

**Tactical Deception**

Chapter One: Enter: Nagisa Uchiha!

**Edit:** I've updated some things in this chapter, as they were incorrect. Nagisa's age is nineteen, Itachi is twenty-five since it has been four years since the war and (somehow; to be explained later) he is still alive. I figure since he was twenty-one when he died, four years later should make him twenty-five. There is a five year difference between Sasuke and Itachi, so this would make the younger brother twenty. I could have made Nagisa the same age, but for some reason I've just decided not to.

**Summary:** More buttons needed pushing, and more chaos needed stirring. The idea of comfort in Konoha was always an illusion, but Sasuke was sure that his latest pain of a companion was very real.

**A/N****: **I've managed to get past the wall that kept me from finishing this story earlier in the year. After vamping it up and correcting errors, it's back up and I'm ready to complete it. I'll be bouncing back and forth between _What Matters Most_ and _Tactical Deception_ until one of them is complete. Most likely, it will be this one first.

**xXx**

She stood atop the hill overlooking Konoha with a grin on her face and the tails of her coat waving in the wind.

She decided then that she would make the best of her stay.

"So this is the Leaf village, huh?" the woman asked, crossing her arms over her chest wrapped down to her mid-drift in black fishnet. She slid her hands down, finding a more comfortable position with them resting against her curvaceous hips.

Two garnet eyes shifted rather reluctantly from her long, slender legs and onto the circular red and white fanned emblem on the back of her coat. "Yes," said the voice, which belonged to the one with the same pair of eyes. A black-nailed hand moved to run his fingers through the swaying lengths of raven-colored hair. Catching a glimpse of him doing so, the woman turned and raised two fingers in the man's direction. 

He looked great, of course and the impressionable gleam in her eyes was enough to tell him that.

A breath of a laugh came from under a rather garish looking hat on the male Sharingan wielder's head, riddled with bells and trinkets who's purpose could only serve to attract as much attention as the pair's unmasked chakra signatures. With a thin line one could mistake for a smile spreading over his full lips, the woman's male partner lifted his hand and snatched the strange garment, bells jingling obnoxiously as he tossed the blasted thing away in the wind. A small hoot and a whistle came from the dark eyed girl as a way of expressing her approval.

"Oh, sensei. You don't look a day over twenty!" she insisted, though truth be told her teacher was in his mid twenties. 

"That's enough, Nagisa," the man's voice came in reply. Her chipper behavior easily dissolved under the weight of his admonishing tone and she ran and hand through the back of her dishelved jet locks. Her round, dark eyes settled on the man nearby her, looking up at him eagerly from under long lashes.

The man's eyes rested on his first and only student, taking in the very essence of her right down to the very chakra points in her body. He found himself recalling countless nights of the previous years where he had trained this girl and prepared her for the mission she was meant to go on today. He'd wordlessly suffered through every one of her childish tantrums, pushing her along through an amount of relentless training that, up until this moment had gone on for an impressive and memorable twelve years. Despite her lack of confidence, Itachi had made it clear that there was no other person he thought capable of doing what he meant for her to do. Every technique and every training session they went through was all for this day; all for this chance. The proud, capable woman standing so sure before him, so bright and radiating with energy and youth was not the same weak girl he had spared somewhere on a night of slaughter and betrayal so long ago.

The meaning behind her afforded existence was a testament to someone precious he could not thoroughly save on his own. It was not a thing that meant his redemption and he was long since done praying to be saved, but the sentiment behind the deed still brought a small smile to his lips.

"Sensei!" Nagisa exclaimed, her bubbly behavior shaking Itachi's pendulous thoughts. His smile faded again into a shapeless, unmoving line. "Sensei, you said that the Leaf Village has a brand new Hokage. They're calling him Orenji, right? Kaze no Orenji! Like an orange whirlwind! But why does he get such a title?"

Since the start of their traverse to Konohagakure, Nagisa had been eager to learn everything she could about the village from her master, a former resident of the area himself. Her mission required no specific knowledge of it, however, and so Itachi was very vague in briefing her on the history of the land. He told her to seek out and befriend a certain man, while keeping a steady but distant eye on another. Both of those men, he'd said, were extremely important to the Leaf Village. Any potential changes involving the future of the village, as well as the world itself would all reflect on the actions of these two people.

…The seventh Hokage and his rivaling best friend.

Nagisa understood her reason for needing to become close to the Hokage. He was the center and the strength of the village. Her master hadn't told her this, but she figured he'd neglected because it was common knowledge. As for the Hokage's best friend, Itachi had said that she would not need to know the specifics. _"You'll meet him as soon as you encounter the Hokage" _Itachi had said. Either that or the man would come seeking her out, himself. It was an understatement to say that Nagisa's new mission hardly made any sense to her. Whatever reason her master had in sending her out for something so vague, she expected to learn after its completion. She would start out with what she thought would be the simplest task in all of this; finding the Hokage and earning his trust.

With his eyes roaming among the various colored buildings of the Leaf Village, Itachi took only a brief moment to consider the answer to his student's question. Of course, he knew the answer. Thinking about it even replaced the previously lost smile on his lips; hearing the faint laughter of children echoing somewhere further down into the streets of the village brought on an unexpected ache of nostalgia.

"Kaze no Orenji. Orenji Senpu," the man said quietly, allowing the words to blend in with the sound of the whirling breeze. Hearing her master say something softly, the young woman turned to where he now stood at a distance from her side.

"Huh?" Nagisa frowned. Her head tilted and her dark hues caught in the sunlight to reveal two deep pools of blue.

Itachi made no incentive to move, only allowing his senses to expand to his surroundings, including one that craftily combined all of them into one. Lifting his view from the unsuspecting little village, two carmine eyes adorned with three revolving black tear drops settled on the clear blue sky. Seconds before the large white clouds could reflect onto the orbs, with their tomoes spinning, the image was pulled inside. Evidently, nothing could withstand the ground-shaking awe of the Sharingan. With a power as rare and seemingly limitless as this, Itachi would initially find himself relishing the dumbstruck countenances of various past opponents. He did not feel compelled to project the illusion of death with any normal form of genjutsu, but instead drew them inside to witness it themselves. It was fun for a short time, but over the years of repetitive tact, it had begun to grow tiresome and the effectiveness of the sport began to wear away.

Finally deciding that her master was not going to answer, the younger Uchiha sighed and crossed her arms over her chest again. "If you aren't going to tell me anything else, can I go now? I'm starving and I've already located every restaurant in town,"

Itachi turned his eyes slowly upon his student with a dark brow raised. "You've done all that?" he asked, only showing half the amount of surprise he was feeling. His student nodded once.

"If you have done all of that, then I can assume you've already spotted the location of the Hokage's current whereabouts," Itachi's eyes slid half closed, turning again to give a side glance to his student; it was less of a question than anything else.

"Right, Nagisa?" 

Nagisa's eyes were busily roaming the various planes of her master's toned upper body, only hidden in slight by the fishnet shirt that he wore. An open black coat lined in red and decorated with familiar, ominous red clouds waved out from both sides in the wind, giving her vision more access to the sun-kissed skin concealed beneath it. Whether he'd seemed to notice her oogling, he wouldn't let on.

"Uh...right," she mumbled abashedly, forcing her eyes away from Itachi to settle on the town again. Her dark blue hues began to dim then, narrowing slightly as they scanned several large and different colored buildings and then taking on a garnet gleam. The familiar, tell-tale tomoes revolving around the dot of her pupil spun slowly and began their task. Nagisa figured that simply finding the Hokage would be an easy enough task. He was the leader of the village, and therefore most likely held the strongest chakra signature in the area.

"Do you see what you are looking for?" Itachi's voice slipped through her concentrating thoughts. He slid his hands into the pockets of his black pants and lazed against the tree behind him.

Nagisa shortly glanced his way and did a double take, eyes widening at the large amount of blue chakra glowing within his very core. Her eyes could see his every chakra point, glowing like tiny dots among the narrow, intricate paths throughout his body. Trying to follow them was like trying to solve her way out of a maze with only her eyes. It was enough to make her head spin. 

"Nagisa," Itachi's warning tone came, snapping her out of her gaze. "Do not look at the paths, only the points on your target." 

"Right…" she mumbled, feeling a little foolish for having become entranced by him again. That was just what he did to her, even quite literally with the very fibers of his being. To the core, she thought he was marvelous and beautiful; so intricate and so fascinating. One couldn't help but notice the way those onyx eyes stared across the glowing afternoon horizon with a gaze of unknown longing, and how even his strides and gestures exuded mystery. His auras were maleficent and while it made her understand the initial discomfort in all of his opponents, it was something completely foreign to her and it didn't ring true.

Sharingan or not, Nagisa saw nothing but kindness and a subtle hint of the past burdens he carried without complaint or expressing distress. She was grateful to have such a master who seemed to care for her unconditionally. This person was her savior among the tainted walls and the battered bodies of her memories...

And of all the times she had let him down; Itachi had never walked away from her. He'd said she had a special purpose.

He was never giving up on her. 

With such thoughts still racing around in her mind, Nagisa turned her attention back to the town ahead, teardrops revolving slowly to a stop as she studied the various tiny dots of chakra cores in the area. While some were clearly stronger than others, this only led her to assume that these were the signatures of adults and younger shinobi. None of them were large enough to rival that of a Hokage's. With a frustrated frown, the young Uchiha let out a small sigh.

This was taking longer than she thought. She hoped Itachi wasn't disappointed. 

"Look to the center of the village in the largest building," her sensei said, and as if on cue she saw it. The sight of it made her wonder how she hadn't. Its density and its size were larger than anything she'd ever encountered. It made her wonder how anything that dangerous could also mean to be something protective. The sphere of steadily flowing chakra glowed and burned, so alive and powerful like a roaring orange fire. The signature, of course, was completely foreign to her, but she didn't need to understand it much right now. 

A chakra glowing orange like fire… The Seventh Hokage, Orenji. 

"It's so huge..." she said, her shoulders becoming lax from tension and her eyes to reverting to their normal ocean of navy blue. Itachi remained unmoved and she realized that he must have still been observing it as well. It was only after she saw the slight, muscular frame of his body relax that she knew that his concentration had been broken. He turned an onyx gaze upon her, orbs slid half open in a calm way that made the rest of his expression appear almost fatigued. Nagisa stared back at him, an owlish look on her face as she awaited his next words. 

"You may go now," he finally said.

Nagisa stared at him a moment longer, wishing for him to say something more. This was it? That was all? Her master wasn't one for farewells or goodbyes. Had it been any of her previous missions, she would have set out shortly after brief instruction and a pat on her dishelved hair. Any other mission before this had been okay to procrastinate on, waste a little time.

But this mission...Itachi's behavior had never appeared so utterly serious to her before. 

Nagisa's eyes trained on Itachi, watching him uncertainly as he retreated from the edge of the hill, leaving her to stand there on her own. He was going to leave. He was going to walk away as he had on every mission she'd ventured on, with the only hope being that she would return safely. It would be a while until they saw each other again; most likely longer than usual, considering the details of the mission. 

Watching him walk passed her made something within her begin to cave. Was she sad that she wouldn't be able to see him for a little longer than usual?

No, the sentiment seemed to run deeper than that...

He was walking away from her without another word, leaving her with the odd memory of a brief instant where he had gazed at her with those kind, but stern eyes of his. Why did he look at her that way? Why didn't he at least tell her where she could contact him in case things got out of hand?

Something was wrong... Something—

"Sensei!" Nagisa whirled around just in time to see Itachi disappearing into the bushes. She heard no sound after this, but she knew that he couldn't already be gone. Abandoning the edge of the hill, the young woman sprinted across the short distance, pushing past the leafy shrubs and ignoring the pricking of the thorns that poked holes or snagged at the tails of her coat. Her eyes had been squeezed shut through the passing of the troubling greenery, but once she'd made it to the other side they were wide and alert, garnet orbs scanning desperately into the depths of the dark forest ahead. His chakra still lingered in the air, and she savored the scent of him still floating on the breeze. She longed for his presence for just a bit more, but she knew that he did not want to be followed. 

Uneasiness stirred inside of Nagisa, as she reluctantly hacked her way through the clingy greenery tearing free of any thorny branches threatening to ensnare her; Stupid branches, stupid thorns and stupid leaves. 

Stupid leaves…

_Damnit_.

Returning to the edge of the hill again, the kunoichi stared out at the town once again, hands on her hips and a faint smile lined of hope on her mouth. The long sides of her navy coat danced against the breeze and the emblem on her back seemed to shine under the rays of sunlight. _This is it_ she told herself, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the large star. With a nod of resolve, the last surviving female of the Uchiha clan took a step forward, initiating her mission in the village hidden in the leaves.

**xXx**

"Oh, _no_!" 

The blond spikes poking out from the top of a shaking head whipped back and forth. Cerulean blue eyes moved across the room in an anxious manner from one familiar body to the next, their aged faces smiled at him eagerly. Whether they were genuine signs of happiness or maybe just a downright lie, Naruto Uzumaki generally didn't like the looks that the foursome before him was giving him.

He wasn't sure what to do. 

"Come on, Naruto!" the soft voice of a pink haired woman pleaded green eyes tense and knowing they'd get their way. _Oh, man...they're all giving me those eyes! _The blond groaned with disdain, worrying his lip between his teeth. He tried not to look too closely into each face within the small crowd in front of his desk.

They were all here; all of them. Their faces were so much more mature now, with that subtle hint of near adultness that the Rokudaime just couldn't overlook. His eyes roamed swiftly over the small trio, especially avoiding the face of his childhood crush. Even without having looked at him once, another pair of dark eyes stared holes into Naruto, almost willing them to look in their direction. 

"Naruto!" 

He couldn't resist anymore. 

Naruto's eyes turned back to the newly formed team. Moegi was on the left, still sporting giant orange pigtails. She stood with her hands on her hips; a similar posture Naruto noticed that she'd adopted from her pink-haired sensei. To the right was Udon, still tired looking and still drippy-nosed. Naruto nearly rolled his eyes as genin gave an audible sniffle. Seriously, after all these years, one would have thought the boy would have learned the concept of a tissue by now!

Finally, and almost reluctantly, the Hokage's blue orbs turned to rest on the dark haired male in front of him. The boy took on a scowl as their eyes met, brows knitting in apparent frustration. Naruto couldn't even remember seeing him grow up this fast. Though, with all that had happened over the years, he supposed it made sense; both he and his younger rival had been so submersed in attending to their own separate duties. Naruto cracked a smile as he stared down at Konohamaru, who in turn gave a rather large grin of his own while stabbing his thumb out in Naruto's direction. It was in that very moment, that Naruto knew he had lost the debate.

The three of them would attend the C-ranked mission he had available for them along with their medic sense. 

No _ifs_, _ands_ or _buts_ about it. 

Restacking the mission reports on the desk in front of him, Naruto couldn't help but think of a time where he had played the same role as Konohamaru. Begging and pleading the Third for better, higher ranked missions and ending up getting more than he'd bargained for. Even after the Third had passed, there was always nagging the Fifth. The Fifth, however, had not been one to tolerate his complaints. 

Ah, the Fifth. Granny Tsunade… He would certainly miss—

"Naruto!"

The sudden slam of the office door nearly knocking it off its hinges shortly followed after the feminine growl of his name. Instinctively, the blond wiggled from behind the wooden desk, bracing himself as a pair of liquid amber eyes glared daggers at him from across the room. 

"Um, yeah Baa-chan?" Naruto squeaked, despite the lower octave of his masculine voice. There she stood, cheeks flaring up in anger like Naruto hadn't recalled seeing in such a long time. Still beautiful, and still ageless though having long ago passed on her title as Hokage, Tsunade the Fifth was very much still alive. The fact that she was now seething with unadulterated rage was proof of this. 

"Lady Tsunade…" Sakura urged, turning around to see her former shishou. She twisted the hem of her mauve apron rather nervously between her fingers. "What's wrong?" 

The woman continued to glare at the blond across the room, and for the life of him he couldn't figure out just what the hell he'd done wrong.

And _hello_? This was his office now, which meant from now on, every karate chopped desk, every broken window and every door ripped off its hinges would now be paid to be replaced with his own money. While under her name it had taken quite a beating, but most of the damage it had taken in the past had been the result of her angry fists, and other various things she could find to toss at them. After having once suffered her wrath and ending up in the hospital for one very long week, Naruto had taken care to avoid causing anything to flare up her storm of a temper. 

So, what was it now? 

"Naruto..." the blonde woman ground out between clenched teeth. The young Hokage was beginning to grow rather wary of her advance. Before the Sannin could come any closer, however, the coral-haired kunoichi stood up, daring to throw herself before the wrath of her sensei. 

"Lady Tsunade, now just wait a moment! Please calm down and tell us what's wrong," Sakura pleaded, holding her hands up in a defensive manner. Sure, she was equally matched now with the woman whose strength was that of a hundred shinobi men, but even Sakura didn't want to risk being thrown out of an office window. 

Tsunade stared intently at the girl standing before her and blockading her path. It seemed as though she were heavily contemplating on shoving her former apprentice aside to give the blond a good beating.

Finally, the remains of Tsunade's furious countenance dissolved and she righted herself, straightening up and crossing her arms. 

"This morning, I went to my pool and found a pair of binoculars sitting by the edge of the step down," the woman explained slowly, her eyes narrowing in clear accusation. 

So that was it, huh? Naruto's blue orbs lowered, graciously avoiding the angry glare of now both Tsunade and his former team mate. It was one thing to have the older woman looking at him so viciously; but Sakura too? He fought the urge to shake his head in disbelief; just like old times.

The trembling figure the blonde's eyes slowly fell onto seemed to somehow physically minimize under his scrutinizing gaze. He knew his culprit was right under his nose, but the difficult decision was to come out and bust him. Naruto could recall without effort the amount of foolishly stupid things he had done to earn the same whooping Konohamaru was about to receive from the retired Godaime; still, he felt a rock of pity fall heavily into the bottom of his stomach.

Letting his face fall into his hands, blond fringe slipping through his fingers, the seventh Hokage knew what had to be done. 

"Konohamaru..." Naruto's voice came out slightly muffled through his hand. "Did you...were you peeping at Baa-chan?" 

"N-no…" came the small, corresponding reply. 

"Idiot!" Sakura screamed, slamming her fist down onto her dark haired student's head. "Just what the hell were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Baa-chan, please don't throw me out the window!" Konohamaru cried, falling to his knees and clasping his hands together. "I was gonna, but I swear I didn't! It was just too embarrassing!"

"Embarrassing, huh?" Tsunade's left eye twitched. Konohamaru nodded quickly. "And you were gonna do it, huh?" 

Again, the boy nodded; a mistake that he would soon regret. 

Naruto, Sakura, and the sudden fraction of team Sakura could almost feel the bones aching in their own backs, as Konohamaru's body was tossed out of the office, slamming so hard into the wall of the hallway that it left a rather impressive indention. The genin groaned, limbs slowly coming away from the dented surface before falling forward and landing face down on the floor. After watching him writher there for about a minute or so, the group's eyes slowly adverted when his body became still.

"L-Lady Tsunade…" Sakura gave a small, nervous laugh. She appeared to be scrambling for a lack of reasonable words. "Shishou, you didn't have to—he's just a boy…"

Ignoring the pink haired medic and with her countenance betraying no lingering amount of anger, the amber eyed woman brushed past Sakura and leaned over the Hokage's desk with a charming smile. It occurred to him for a moment that the swift change in attitude was a little unnerving, but he was soon too distracted for worry.

"Good afternoon, Naruto! How are things going for you?" 

The seventh Hokage bit his lip in an apprehensive manner and scratched the back of his head, where his sunny locks had grown considerably long. Once or twice, he thought about getting a haircut but on a number of occasions, he'd been told how greatly he resembled his father. Overwhelmed at hearing this, Naruto abandoned the idea completely. He admittedly liked his new look, anyway.

Despite the fact that it'd been his life's dream and something he'd been aiming for, for a very long time, he'd still felt a great amount of shock when he was told he'd become Tsunade's future replacement. He'd undergone apprenticeship status shortly after that, going through the motions with Tsunade teaching what he needed to know. It was all much harder than it appeared to him, but Naruto had resigned himself to carrying through and fulfilling his goal without reconsidering for a second. It was all worth it in the end. He really loved the job, but sometimes…

"Naruto."

Tsunade's voice snapped the blond back into attention. His eyes rose from the stacks of paper on his desk, relieved that they hadn't been roaming anywhere else.

"Huh? Oh, everything's okay here, Baa-chan," Naruto assured, offering one of his famously large grins. His answer seemed to satisfy the woman, as she stood to full height and stepped away from the desk. Her eyes were now on the small team in the room minus one. "Your mission will be delayed until tomorrow," she told Moegi and Udon. The boy looked up at her through a lensed gaze, attempting to wipe his nose. Tsunade sighed in exasperation and reached over to the desk to grab a tissue. 

"B-but Lady Tsunade," Sakura's voice mumbled from across the room. She was standing in the door way and examining Konohamaru's unmoving body. "Sasuke's team has already returned. Shouldn't we be leaving today?" 

From behind his desk, Naruto jolted upright and curled his fingers around the underside of his desk, the rest of Sakura's sentence suddenly lost on him after hearing only one word that left a cold pang in his chest.

_Sasuke…_

It'd been a while since Naruto had actually seen him. Since he'd been completely freed from prohibition, the Uchiha rarely wandered into town. He instead remained secluded in his new home, which had graciously been given to him solely upon the request of Naruto himself. The council was a little skeptical about not having him within the immediate confines of the village to keep a closer eye on, but the way Naruto saw it, it was only a lesser means of imprisonment. For true liberation, the Uchiha needed a fresh breath of air and to visit his clan's old compound. He'd chosen a location within its vicinity where a house was built, and within a few months time he settled there.

At the redeemed Uchiha's initial reappearance in the Leaf Village shortly after the war, there was hardly a single person who wasn't in favor of his indefinite restriction. 

After a lot of private meetings and discussions with the council, the town had decided to confine Sasuke to an entire three years without use of any jutsu. He was sentenced to a special sector in shinobi prison where the use of chakra was ineffective and his blood line limit was sealed. Tsunade had even subjected him to weekly remedial treatment with one of Konoha's top therapists, hoping it would serve as an outlet for the Uchiha's extended mental stress for the next couple of three years.

Three years seemed to go by fast in Naruto's eyes, and never once did he have to go a day full of worry over his best friend's dishelved condition. Much against the Uchiha's desire, his best friend made it a point to visit Sasuke every day up until the time of his release.

But a year had gone by since he had been freed now. Naruto thought it was kind of strange that Sasuke was still isolating himself inside his house, with the exception of missions on his lonesome or with his team.

"I'm sorry," Tsunade's voice broke cleanly through Naruto's thoughts. "But Konohamaru is no longer in any condition to carry out the mission. He should be fine tomorrow, but if you think you should move forward with the mission, you should send another—" 

"Baa-chan," Naruto interrupted quietly, folding his hands into his lap. The room then descended into a wavering silence, and all eyes focused on the man half lazing behind his desk with his piercing blue eyes set with meaning on the medic Sannin. A pretty red colored her cheeks, and shifting with slight discomfort, she crossed her arms around herself and glanced away.

No longer was she in charge of dealing those kinds of orders; sometimes it was hard to remember. The boy whom she had taken in as her own second apprentice was now grown and capable of making decisions that would determine that safety of the people around him. Whatever he decided was what would be the final decision. Fifth Hokage nodded solemnly, indicating that she understood.

"I apologize, Naruto. You're right,"

Naruto offered a smile that came easy, and let his hands unfold as he stretched his arms across the table with a lion-like yawn. "It's no problem, Baa-chan. Old habits die hard, huh?"

Tsunade returned his smile in kind. "Yeah," she said quietly, and then turned to the doorway. "I guess they do..."

The fraction of team Konohamaru, Naruto and Sakura watched Tsunade step out into the hall, briefly disappearing around the corner after picking up the unconscious child on the floor and taking him with her. The tension in the room had finally evaporated, and the seventh Hokage let out a great sigh while smacking his head down onto his desk.

"That lady…" he whispered, half afraid she was still lurking around. From across the room, Sakura also sighed and looked at her remaining two team mates, unsure of what to do since their mission had been preempted. They could all still go, if that was Naruto's decision. Of course, it would take some time for Konohamaru's injuries to heal. 

Naruto contemplated the idea of sending another team. Would it make a difference? Not really, though the afternoon was getting late and he would've preferred to have sent them sooner. 

Naruto picked his spiky blond head up from his desk and was met with the expectant green-eyed gaze of Haruno Sakura.

_Sakura…_

So pretty and sweet, though without a doubt still very capable of packing a mean punch. He still found her very attractive, even more so with how she'd matured into such a capable woman over the years. However, he'd given up on the fantasy of ever being with her, and she'd given up on Sasuke just as well. Unfortunately, while he had no other person to lust after, Sakura had... 

The sound of the office door opening rather slowly made Naruto perk up in his chair. He had to remember to look presentable, and attractive.

Okay, well maybe not _attractive_. He could only hope to get by with the first one… 

A familiar, pale face slowly peeked into the door way, baring a smile so huge and fake, Naruto found himself crumpling up a recent mission report in both hands. Feeling the heat of anger leave his face after realizing the stupidity that the fleet of jealousy had brought about, he unfolded the paper and attempted to smooth it out again. _All better _he told himself, and then put on a smile just as fake for the thin, ghostly man who slipped into his office without a sound.

Just like the ANBU nin he was. 

And then he took the hand of the girl Naruto used to love. 

_Just like the jerk he's always been!_

"Sai, you're back!" Sakura said brightly, looking up to greet the young artist with a smile. Her fingers curled around the pale hand that held onto her fair one. The blond made a small sound of disgust in the back of his throat, but the couple appeared to be lost on his presence at the moment.

To Naruto, Sakura and Sai seemed _completely_ mismatched. When he found out that they'd started dating, he'd wrestled with the thought in his mind for weeks until he had come to the startling realization that it didn't even matter. At first glance, Sai seemed nothing more than an incredibly pale version of Sasuke. That and the guy would brush off any girl that fawned over him as if they were a speck of dirt on his canvas. 

But over time, Sai had begun to surprise everyone. He'd developed something Naruto could moderately call a personality. It would become apparent when he expressed his likes by wearing an honest smile and his dislikes by sporting a fake one. He'd even gone as far as to tell Naruto what he thought of his new hairstyle.

"It's atrocious," Sai had deadpanned, not even trying to humor him with a smile."You look like a woman. Please seek the appropriate professionals, and correct the problem immediately". 

Being the new and improved young man that he was, Naruto had effectively repressed the urge to tell the ANBU he was about to correct the arrangement of his face.

"I would have been back sooner, but I picked up a strange chakra signature on the outskirts of the village," Sai replied, his dark eyes shifting to Naruto. He flashed the Hokage a cheesy smile as if he hadn't noticed the blond before.

"A strange chakra signature?" Sakura repeated, taking vague consideration in the silent quarrel of facial expressions going on between her two companions. Naruto's face fell at the new revelation and he leaned forward more attentively at his desk.

"What do you mean? What was it like?"

As of late, the village had been safe and secure. In fact, there had hardly been a single threat to surface since the fourth shinobi war. Since the time of the catastrophe, however, there had been rumors that one of the Akatsuki members still remained alive, though currently dormant as far as associating in the ninja world. These were definitely rumors though, as Naruto had been sure to deal with the majority of the sinister group himself. All of them were, without the slightest doubt in the Hokage's mind, were dead and gone. 

Even so, as the Naruto listened to his former team mate resume his explanation, he couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit of dread. 

"It was a strong chakra signature. The shinobi had been considerably reckless, not even bothering to hide it. I did a lap or so around the area, but came to nothing," 

Naruto frowned and tapped two fingers thoughtfully against his lips. From what Sai had described, the threat only appeared to be minimal. And besides that, the shinobi had already left before he could be discovered. Had he sensed Sai following his trail? They couldn't be certain, but he also couldn't let even something this small be passed off as an empty threat.

"Sai," the blond said, threading his fingers together on his desk. "Have you told anyone else about this?" 

"No Hokage-sama," the pale boy replied. Naruto blinked a couple times, taken for a moment by the honorific Sai had tacked on, and then he righted himself.

"Alright… I'll speak to Kotetsu and Izumo about this. I'm going to ask them if they've seen anything strange." 

"But, Naruto…" Sakura spoke up. For a moment, he almost forgotten she was there. 

"It's fine," the blond assured, waving a hand dismissively at the medic. "Just send 'em my way if you happen to see them. Okay?"

Sakura looked reluctant to agree, but she nodded anyway. Being his first assistant, she understood that it was best not to argue. 

"Anyway, is there anything else you two need?" Naruto was trying his best to avoid the unsettling topic of the Akatsuki, which seemed to be a place where there conversation might be headed. Sakura shook her head, shortly dismissing herself while taking Udon and Moegi along with her. Sai, however, appeared to have more to say. 

A lot more. 

"Naruto, I didn't want to say this in front of Sakura, because it might upset her. But there is also...something else I saw,"

The intensity of Sai's dark stare made Naruto's heart beat a little faster in his chest. Whatever Sai was about to say next, he got the feeling that it wasn't good.

**TBC**

**A/N:** Gonna be uploading these pretty fast. I'm taking them out of my old AFF account and revising them. I have improved so much since I first started writing there. It's fun to correct everything, but also a little embarrassing.

Anyway, I'm not really one for OC stories. In fact, I _really_ don't like them. I think the trouble with these kinds of fan fictions is that every story seems to surround only that character and nothing else ever goes on, and it tires out really quickly. I'm really trying to set a nice solid background story and work in a lot of different little side plots to balance everything out. I want this to feel like a story that has the depth to it that I cannot find in most OC stories.

Anyway, expect to see more chapters up, as it's all written out and waiting to be revised.

-**Smiles**


	2. A Willd Goose Chase

**Tactical Deception**

Chapter Two:  A Wild Goose Chase

**xXx**

It hadn't taken more than five minutes for Nagisa to get herself into trouble. The Leaf village sure had a tight grip on its security; or at least, that's what she thought at first.

She made her way casually through the large green gates like it was no matter at all. Unfortunately, since she donned no headband to represent her respective village, the two shinobi guarding the post at the entrance mistook the Uchiha for a civilian. A smile crept onto Nagisa's lips as she feigned sidling up to them and watched as their looks of suspicion transformed into ones of unadulterated awe.

"Hey, there..." She purred in a low, sultry voice. The men exchanged eager glances before deciding to look professional.

"Ma'am," said the first one, free of bandages unlike his partner. "Are you a shinobi? Civilians aren't encouraged to wander out of the bounds of the village alone."

Nagisa played bashfully with the hem of her skirt while she considered her options. Telling the two Leaf nin that she was a civilian from the village would most likely lead them to ask where she had been; maybe they would even ask other people to confirm her alibi and her identity. She didn't really feel like making up an entire story, so she decided to go with the half truth.

"I am a former resident of an area on the outskirts of this village. I've come here to ask your Hokage about being instated as a shinobi here," Nagisa said carefully; she wasn't sure if that was even legal. Upon finishing her sentence she realized that all of it was… not so much a lie. The Uchiha compound was located in a small piece of land about a mile or two away from the main village, and to her knowledge it was probably still there. While she'd never actually visited Konoha, there was something about it that clearly made her mentor very wary. She'd tried to ask him about it a couple times during their trip to the Fire country, but Itachi had easily brushed off her questions to continue elaborating on the details of her mission.

"You left?" the bandaged nin asked incredulously. Nagisa feigned a timid nod, inwardly pleased that her interrogators were totally buying her sob story.

"Yeah, I did. I was around six, so I don't really remember much… So do you think I can speak to your Hokage? It's been a really long travel and…" the Uchiha reached her arms above her head and stretched for effect, "I'm kind of tired."

The two shinobi traded glances of distrust that were not lost on the sly kunoichi.

"You take her, Izumo. One of us has to stay and guard the gate," the bandaged man insisted, while looking around his post as if he suspected an enemy had already slipped past them. His partner sighed and swiped the fringe or dark hair away from his eye in order to see the woman better.

"Look, lady. Neither of us can leave our post right now. But if you really want to see Naruto, there's a building at the back center of the village. If you head over there, you'll see a guy lazing near the entrance with a senbon hanging out of his mouth. Now, that's Genma, alright?" he spoke carefully and pointed towards the building as if Nagisa were a lost child. She nodded solemnly as if she was really going to follow his instructions. "So yeah, he'll get you to Naruto if you ask him."

The man finished his explanation with a smile that Nagisa decided wasn't too hard on the eyes, and she returned it in kind before heading off into the village.

After she was out of ear shot, the two shinobi watched her walk away until she became lost in a throng of villagers.

"She was pretty cute," Kotetsu said, something of a dreamy smile coming to his face. Izumo merely rolled his eyes, somewhat irked over the fact that the nin was so quick to fawn over such a suspicious looking woman."She was suspicious though," Kotetsu added, after seeing the water user's incredulous expression.

Pulling the bandana down more so over his dark hair, Izumo leaned against the wall that surrounded the village. "She was something else, wasn't she? She sure knew what she was doing. Well, whatever happens next, I just hope Naruto is able to handle it. He tends to get soft for women of that nature.

Kotetsu just snorted and shook his head. "Don't we all?"

**xXx**

Nagisa's plan had gone a lot smoother than she'd hoped. Not only had she managed to avoid telling any big lies, (trust was the key word in this entire espionage) but she'd gotten by without even needing a Leaf village escort.

How stupid were this people?

Free to walk around the village without raising any suspicion, the female Uchiha decided that now all she needed to find was some poor sap willing enough to buy her lunch; or, she could just beat the change out of them. Itachi had insisted she eat the fish that he caught the night before, but she was just so tired of the scaly little bug-eyed bastards that she decided to tough it out until they reached the village.

Now she was here, and she could barely keep the ravenous growling of her insides to a minimum. Many times she was sure she'd even begun to attracted curious glances from several pass byers. Or maybe it was this new existence that was giving them a cause for concern? She wondered if it had anything to do with her outfit; if she really stood out. Nagisa wasn't very self conscious, but even so she pulled the long sides of the navy Uchiha jacket around her as if it shield her scantily clothed body from non-existent prying eyes. Somehow, this made her feel better.

The Sharingan user had just spotted a rather handsome young man pulling out his wallet and dumping a large amount of money onto the bar in front of him, when a tall shadow descended over the ground from behind her. Somewhere within, a small inner voice told her that she'd been wasting her time in one spot for too long, while another told her to just stop thinking and run. She was about to act on the latter, when a soft masculine voice interrupted her internal thoughts.

"Hey."

"Yes…?" Nagisa turned around nice and slow, half expecting to see a weapon pointed within an inch of her nose; the face she was greeted with might as well have been the same. Tall and bored, a man with a dark pineapple topknot stared back at her lazily as if her threat factor amounted to zero. The pinch of his thin brows made his light brown eyes narrowed as if irritated, while his body language clearly exuded reluctance and disinterest. He slid his hands into the pockets of his dark pants before acknowledging her again.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" he grumbled out, though it was clear that it was more of direct accusation, rather than any question.

"Aha…" Nagisa giggled faintly and held her hands up as if to surrender. "So you've got me. But I'm not here to hurt anyone," she gestured to the collection of oblivious people scattered around the area. The young man's tawny gaze sharpened at her words as if carefully weighting the sincerity of her words.

"Really, really!" the Uchiha insisted, waving her hands and laughing as though the thought had never occurred to her. "I'm just here for your Hokage."

The man's brown eyes widened at the revelation, and his entire countenance changed completely. It was in that moment that Nagisa realized she'd made a very big mistake.

The nin took a quick step forward with no hesitation in the movement, as he reached out to catch hold of one of the tails of her coat. While it would have been in her best interest to surrender immediately, her shinobi instincts domineered over her physical movements, and the kunoichi avoided the grabbing hand with grace.

"Come and catch me, pineapple head!" Nagisa called, sticking out her tongue and instigating his next course of action; she was being foolish and she knew it. With the agility of their movements it wouldn't be long before they alerted every shinobi in the village. It was something she couldn't afford to let happen, but still…those grabby hands and that troubled face.

Nagisa decided that a game of tag was in order.

Bored and handsome took the bait with ease. He bound forward again, reaching out for a second attempt this time at the low collar of her white shirt, but his lack of hand-eye coordination left him failing miserably. His rebound was quick and admittedly impressive, but the Uchiha was already ahead of him and running through the throng of people, civilians or other.

"Hey, get back here!" Pineapple head yelled, but the woman only giggled at the ineffectiveness of his plea. If he really wanted to catch her, he would definitely have to make an earnest effort now.

**xXx**

"_What?"_

"That's what Izumo and Kotetsu told me," Sai finished his explanation. Naruto slowly leaned backwards in his chair, his hands slipping away from the edge of his desk. He couldn't believe what he'd just been told.

No matter how he looked at it, sat on it, looked at it upside down, dumped it in some ramen and threw some glitter on it there was no way...There could be _no_ way…

There could not be another Uchiha roaming the streets of Konoha; especially a female one.

Naruto originally planned to call upon Kotetsu and Izumo for completely different reasons, but now...what if those reasons weren't so different after all? The blond Hokage looked at his pale friend and a horrible thought came to his mind. "No one else can know about this," he told Sai. "Please, go find Izumo and Kotetsu. Have them tell the other Jonin to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Don't inform them of the potential situation."

"Yes, of course," the ghostly ANBU replied, rising from his seat and slipping the painted white mask haphazardly over the side of his short dark hair. He was prepared to teleport out of the office, when Naruto's fist slammed down onto the wooden desk. The blonde's eyebrows arched in sudden realization.

"Sai..." the Hokage whispered. Cerulean orbs betraying worry rose and met with dark, inexpressive ones. "Sasuke...he can't know about this. He's just gotten over..." Naruto spread his hands for lack of a better word, "all of this. I don't want to see my best friend get overwhelmed and power hungry again."

The ANBU nodded once, clearly understanding the Seventh Hokage's deliberate resolve. It was just two years ago that they fought desperately, tooth and nail to capture the Uchiha and drag him back into the village. Those looks of tire and relief, and all of the long-suppressed tears he had witnessed...Sai never wanted to see them again.

"You do not need to worry, Naruto," the artist said, kneeling down as he placed the mask over his face. "I won't allow anything to happen to Sasuke. We will capture the female intruder and bring her to the interrogation room—"

"No," Naruto objected quickly. Through his porcelain disguise, Sai held a faint look of confusion.

"No?"

"I want to talk to her before anyone else. I want to know if she's... if she is really like Sasuke." The blond admitted, his last few words trailing off to a quiet end. He knew that this was probably all some sort of false alarm; he really hoped it was. There was just no way that all this time... if there had been such a person, Naruto was a hundred percent certain that Sasuke would have found and reunited with them way before now.

…But what if he hadn't known? What if—

"Very well," agreed Sai. "I won't waste any time alerting the interrogation team for now. We will be back with her as soon as she is captured."

With a promise intact, Sai teleported from the room while leaving behind only a puff of smoke. Naruto sighed and leaned back in his chair. The long black robes with the vibrant orange flames him hung just below his knees when he suddenly stood, aware of another undetected presence in the room. Finding the chakra signature all too familiar, he relaxed again and collapsed back into the chair. He tilted his head towards the ceiling, leaning back in a dejected manner as he began to swivel around.

"Hey," he said to the empty room. "You don't have to hide, you know. Not bothering to conceal your charka signature sort of defeats the purpose of hiding your presence. 

The sly, indirect comment earned the sound of an angry fist slamming into a wall, as a dark haired figure clad in black slipped out of the shadows. A victorious smirk curled up on Naruto's lips and once he couldn't hold it back anymore, he allowed it to transcend into a full blown grin. Seeing the unreadable expression his best friend's face caused the Hokage's cheerful demeanor to dissipate.

"So…" he began, bowing his head and folding his hands anxiously onto his desk. It was suddenly difficult to attain a comfortable posture. How was he supposed to act about all of this? Was this good news? Was it bad news?

_Erm…_

"So…how much of that did you hear? Or maybe…You already knew?" 

"I didn't," replied the dark haired man. The reply had been simple enough, but for some reason, there was a sort of complexity in his tone. The man's voice had deepened considerably, as Naruto's had though in the same sense he found that it hadn't really changed. Perhaps it was because this man had always portrayed a level of maturity that should have never developed until a later point in his life. Even under experimental conditions courteously of the now very dead Sannin Orochimaru, the Uchiha's body had been made to speed up the process of his physical development. The effects were successfully reversed via Tsunade's medical expertise; however, the mental change would forever remain.

"Sasuke..." the Seventh Hokage began after the awkward silence was starting to get to him. He leaned forward to look his best friend in the face. "I don't think it would be a good idea for you to go."

Naruto awaited a reaction that would never come.

The Rokudaime frowned, watching the calm expression go unchanged over the man's usually scowling features. He should have been angry. Should have said he'd do whatever the hell he wanted, regardless of whether his own best friend or the leader of their village told him no straight to his face.

But he didn't; and when Naruto saw none of this he began to feel concerned. "You want to go, don't Sasuke?" he asked the Uchiha. Sasuke gave an indifferent, one-shouldered shrug, causing Naruto's jaw to drop. What the hell was this guy's problem, becoming so unconcerned about something like this?

"Sasuke!" the blond growled, hands slamming down on the hard wooden surface of his desk. "This is about your clan! Don't tell me that you—"

"Maybe not," Sasuke spoke up. His eyes remained heavily concentrated on the carpet floor. Naruto couldn't stand the softness of the man's despondent voice. He appeared to have reverted to the way he'd been once he had submitted to his three year imprisonment, impassive and unresponsive. Was this the way Sasuke acted when there was something he wasn't sure how to handle?

"…Maybe not?" Naruto repeated. He opened his mouth again to give the Uchiha a verbal tongue lashing, when suddenly a pair of ninja made their entrance via teleportation right between the two.

Hokage-sama!" said the first ninja, clad in formal ANBU attire. "Shikamaru Nara is currently pursuing said potential threat,"

_Chasing?_ Naruto quirked an eyebrow.

"What exactly is she doing?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. If all she was doing was running around, the only thing they were succeeding in was tiring out a good fleet of nin. There was no need to call up such special enforcements just to play a game of tag.

"She isn't doing _anything_," replied the second ANBU while removing his mask. The face revealed was immediately familiar to Naruto; Kiba flashed the Hokage a canined grin.

"She's only leading us around," Kiba continued, slapping a hand over his mouth to stifle a sound expressing his exhaustion. Naruto suspected that he'd been off on the chase as well. "She seems to be enjoying it a lot, that's the bad news.

"…And the good news?" Naruto didn't know what he was expecting.

"There isn't any, to be honest. I guess it's just that she's not taken the opportunity to attack the village."

"Still," the first ANBU interjected, also removing his mask. This was a face that Naruto also knew very well. To the second reformation of team seven, he was known as Yamato; to his ANBU friends, he was Tenzou. "She has admitted to Izumo and Kotetsu that she is specifically not from this village. And also...her intention appears to be a meeting with you."

"Me?" Naruto pointed to himself. A look of incredulousness twisted his features. He hadn't even learned the name of this girl! Who was she? And why was she in Konoha, stirring up chaos right now? One way to find all of these answers was certainly to capture her and haul her into his office. The only problem was that she appeared to be incredibly fast; so fast, in fact, that all of the other shinobi, let alone the ANBU were having a hard time catching her!

"Pull back and don't attack her," the Hokage told the two ANBU, making meaningless gestures with his hands as he began to explain. "If we keep chasing her around, it could go on forever and we don't want to upset the entire village."

"Sounds like a plan," Yamato agreed. "I hate to admit it, but I don't think continuing to pursue her is a good idea at all. The best solution is to just entrap her with a jutsu." Kiba nodded in agreement.

"No, no jutsu," the Rokudaime shook his head. "It's probably best if we—"

"No."

"_No_?" Naruto titled his head in the direction of the objecting voice, surprised and relieved to finally hear the male Uchiha defy him. "You're staying here, Sasuke. You and I aren't done—"

"Yamato," Sasuke cut in, leaving the effectiveness of Naruto's words to dissolve. "Tell me about this person. What does she look like? What about her features, anything specific?"

Yamato appeared to be hesitating, as if waiting for the speechless Hokage to collect himself, but when Naruto said nothing, he swallowed his apprehension and reply. 

"Her eyes are dark but in the sunlight Shikamaru claims they are actually blue. Her hair is also dark and about shoulder-length, but it's sort of spiky and uneven. Her clothes are shinobi attire, nothing that appears out of the ordinary or indicates her specified village. And then, there's the long coat she is wearing..." Yamato paused, causing Sasuke to look up expectantly.

"Well,what is it?" he asked, jet eyes smoldering with an obscure intensity. Yamato turned to Naruto, but Sasuke impatiently slammed his hand against the wall behind him.

"I-it's her coat..." Yamato stammered. "Navy blue, with a fan and—"

"Colors?" Sasuke demanded, his voice an octave above a whisper. He looked as though he were about to flee the room at any given moment. Naruto got to his feet, preparing to pursue the Uchiha should he decide to do so.

Yamato's distress was abounding, and it was clear he was uncertain of what revealing this last bit of information would lead to. However, the growing intensity of Sasuke's dark eyes had become so alarmingly cruel that he found himself spilling the words without giving it a second thought. "Red. And white; bottom to top in that order."

"I'm leaving," announced the Uchiha.

"Sasuke, I said no!" the blond Hokage exclaimed, tripping forward in an attempt to grab onto the collar of his friend's shirt. Without looking back, the Sharingan user reached behind him and Naruto halted in mid-step. Blue sparks of electricity flickered at Sasuke's fingertips.

"Sasuke…"

"Don't follow me," Sasuke warned.

Naruto stayed rooted to the spot as if he were glued there, despite his will to stop his friend. Something held him back, even as he watched Sasuke walk out of the room, and the last sliver of the Uchiha's shadow fade from the edge of the hall.

No matter who he was or what authority he held, the seventh Hokage knew full well that he held no place in this decision; Sasuke Uchiha would ultimately do what he wanted and there would be no stopping him.

**xXx**

Shikamaru Nara had had about enough of the wild goose chase he was being led on. 

Down the streets and through various shops and crowds of unsuspecting people, this girl was going quite literally to such great heights just to have what only appeared to be a small amount fun. Now they were on the roofs, safely away from any civilians or precious monuments or statues. It made things less difficult, but this left a scarce amount of things to cast shadows. He planned to use _that_ jutsu from the start, but no sooner had received new instructions not to use any jutsu _at all_. 

Damn that Naruto; always trying to spare even the smallest threat.

Bored and handsome sure was getting frustrated, but he had yet to use any physical attacks on Nagisa. She was certain that he was trying to do his best not to startle any of the civilians, and it was just in her good luck that he was refraining from doing so. However, she knew it would be better for both of them if she just ended this silly game and willingly surrendered. _Pineapple head has a reluctant nature…_ she thought with a smirk. _I'm sure if I slow down, he will handle me with care._

Nagisa was just a few buildings ahead of her pursuer, when she decided to stop and turn around. As she'd predicted, the man also came to a stop, though much further away from where she was standing.

"Hey, I'm getting really tired of this game," he called out to her. He stood there unmoving without another word for minute. The chase had gone on for at least half an hour now, and Nagisa hadn't even broken a sweat. However, if he gave up on her there was bound to be others who would pick up where he left off. She had to explain herself soon... but right now she would get away with what she could, until…

"Tired already?" the woman giggled, running her slender fingers through her choppy raven locks. Shikamaru couldn't deny that with the combination of those dark blue eyes, and the way that fishnet hugged so tightly around her fair, curvaceous body...well, he figured maybe she might have just been worth the challenge she was. While Shikamaru hadn't exactly become a pervert as many of his other male friends had, he was still a man and not even he could look at a scantily dressed woman without so much as batting an eyelash.

The way that dark blue coat was flying out behind her during their chase had given him sneak peeks of the way her skirt had begun to hike up on her long slender legs. He imagined just what would go down if they were to engage in physical combat. Would she attempt to fight him off? Maybe, he'd even get as lucky as getting a few shots of her—

Damn. What kind of thoughts were _these_, from a shinobi of his caliber? This girl was a raving _lunatic_ and an enemy as far as he was concerned.

She had finally slowed down and this was his moment to capture her. As the Uchiha continued to talk, Shikamaru allowed his mind to drown out her taunting little speech and went to work in forming a plan. _No jutsu...she's too fast to catch alone or even with anyone else's' help. And there's just no way she's going to give up if I ask her nicely...is there?_

The man had stopped chasing Nagisa completely; maybe he really was tired of this game? If that was the case, then it would be the perfect time for her to up and walk away. Nagisa had to get to the Hokage as soon as possible. Right now, they were running around a giant field of fun, and the Hokage was home base. As the man continued to study her, she realized that his hesitation might also be a distraction. Was it okay to use her Sharingan? No, it was her trump card. Besides, she didn't really need it to avoid the grabby hands of this particular shinobi. He was too well-reserved to attack and he was keeping his distance right now, anyway.

He wasn't the only one tailing her either, though.

Earlier, about five minutes before her last leap to this very roof, she had detected a very strong chakra signature in the distance. Surely, the shinobi of this village weren't so weak that they had to send their Hokage out... no, she was sure this was not the case but she couldn't be sure. Not unless she was to use her Sharingan...

Shikamaru groaned and stood up to full height and began to roll his shoulders sorely. _'This is practically impossible without any jutsu.._' he told himself, extinguishing any remnants of loop-holed strategies he had left swimming around in his mind. It was time to give up, because frankly, if someone like him couldn't think of a way to solve the situation it would be a while before anyone ever caught this woman. 

Oh, _women_. 

To this day, he still found them to be the most complicated beings to ever walk to planet. What was it that made them think that leading you on was just a good idea? In his opinion, if someone truly wanted something they'd be better off coming out and saying.

But apparently he was dealing with a modest woman here; or so he thought. 

"Take me to your Hokage or I'll find him myself!" she demanded, crossing her arms and stomping one of her thick-heeled, knee high black boots. "You're really _boring_. If we're done playing, then have them send someone else," 

"They already have."

At the sound of a dark, familiar voice, Shikamaru's head snapped up. Standing behind the unsuspecting woman, a raven-haired man crossed his arms over his chest, onyx eyes narrowed. A gentle breeze carried across the row of multi-colored roofs, stealing the tension away for only a moment before bringing it back with a density of tenfold. Spiky black locks danced under its ministration and became still as the wind finally settled. Shikamaru understood then that it was time to bow out. 

"Alright, then," he sighed tiredly. "I'll leave it to you, Sasuke. I'm off."

The male Uchiha said nothing as he slowly slid the long metal blade of the sheath behind his back. His dark eyes focused with obscure intent on the back of the woman before him. Without a doubt, this was definitely the woman that the shinobi of the Leaf had been chasing for a good half hour. A smirk played on his lips as a wave of eagerness stirred within him. It'd been a while since he'd faced a challenge; he hoped she would make for a formidable opponent. 

"No more running now," said the low voice of Nagisa's new pursuer. She withheld a giddy laugh, already understanding the amount of confidence this person had for himself, as it was apparent in the tone of his voice. He was drawing a weapon on her of some kind now; something metallic. Maybe a sword? 

"Sasuke!" called the boy still in front of her, about to take his leave. "You can't attack her," he said. "That's our orders." 

A nearly audible sigh came from behind Nagisa, and she shivered with excitement as she felt sensation of a warm breath carry along the wind and travel gently over her shoulder. He was impatient, but it seemed he would still follow the orders of his precious superior.

"You can go now," the firm, foreboding voice said but Nagisa knew he was speaking to his partner. The man with the ponytail gave a brief nod, and then he was off leaping in the opposite direction among the rooftops. 

The man behind Nagisa made no incentive to move. Was he also going to analyze her? She had not been this close to her previous opponent; well, only for a fleeting moment before she'd made her escape. Something about the sinister presence behind her had begun to make the kunoichi's skin crawl. He was giving her goose bumps… There was something so familiar about him, that she found her thoughts drifting on to another person entirely. Someone just as equally intimidating and exciting, with a presence so intoxicating, just a mere sweep or a gaze of his charcoal eyes was more than enough to leave even the most detached person with a subtle bit of curiousity. 

Ha. She hadn't even seen the guy, and already she was throwing him into comparison with Itachi. A grin spread over Nagisa's lips as she heard a soft chuckle coming from behind her. "As if..." she whispered.

"As if, what?" the man's voice came, interrupting her innermost thoughts. "Do you think you will not be captured? I can assure you..." a hand came to rested on Nagisa's left shoulder. She could feel it taking on a firm grip, sending giddy jolts of excitement bursting within her body. Unlike his friend, his hands weren't so grabby. On the contrary, they were steady and confident, as if they were sure that they would definitely get whatever they were reaching for.

"...that I will definitely have you..." he finished finally, confirming all of Nagisa's racing thoughts.

With an impulsive, yet skillful bound Nagisa freed herself from the hand of the unknown, feeling a flare of adrenaline surging through her body as she flew through the air. Her new high did not crash down on her as her feet touched the ground, but escalated even further. For some reason, her pursuant had released her without so much as a finger twitch of hesitation. This pleased Nagisa, for she wanted to get a full inspection of the person that wished to engage her. 

Two piercing garnet eyes staring daggers in her direction had been the last thing the kunoichi had expected to see. 

His skin was fair and flawless in likeness her own. Dark, raven colored hair all dishelved in an array of spikes waved with grace in the wind. He was giving her an intense glare with those familiar, dark red orbs adorned with the same three orbiting black tomoes. Despite her surprise, Nagisa had found her smiling openly. Things had suddenly gotten more interesting than she could have ever fathomed.

"Uchiha…" Nagisa mumbled, feeling her heart race.

"Come here," he beckoned. The kunoichi allowed herself a chuckle but no more. She was still drinking up his good looks and didn't want to do anything to provoke him into moving. 

"If I come to you, what will you do to me? Walking to you so willingly would mean the same thing as admitting defeat, right?" she gambled. The man's eyes narrowed and Nagisa felt her heart leap with more excitement. Were they going to fight? Testing her own ability against his would certainly be fun, but she had to remember she was supposed to play nice. 

"Your fun time is over, whoever you are," the male Uchiha told her in a stern voice. "Show me your power, or I am going to kill you," 

Oh. So _that's_ how it was going to be. 

Nagisa stood up right and placed her hands on her hips. "Now, now," she shook a scolding finger in his direction. "Let's just play nice, okay? You're a man and you seem to have a lot of pride. You're also really quite attractive, though not as attractive as my sensei. So, I suggest that if you don't want to have your ass handed back to you on a plate by the end of our conversation, I advise you to turn tail and run away while I'm giving you the chance."

That had certainly done it. Nagisa flashed the man a wide, pearly grin. "So hey, should I still come over or what?" 

The carmine hues of the man's eyes began to smolder with an anger that sent his body shuddering. Nagisa watched his form trembling, mistaking it for a sign of fear and excitement, rather than anger.

"You talk a lot," she heard him growl, as he reached behind himself to reclaim his sword. The metallic scrape of the blade sliding out of the sheath echoed from the distance between them. 

Nagisa shifted her weight and crossed her arms over her chest. So he was really going to fight her? Well, this probably wouldn't reflect on her so well in the future, but for now her curiousity had stolen her better judgment. Her sensei hadn't told her about there being a _third_ Uchiha, let alone one residing in this particular village. It wasn't like him to leave such a vital detail out of his explanations. Had he known? He had to have known.

So then, why—

Nagisa was granted only a moment to recollect herself, as the mysterious man had taken the liberty where he'd seen the chance of closing the distance between them. He was coming at her with full speed, and the long blade of his sword glinting in the late afternoon sunlight. She had to think quickly about what she should do; attack? His deadly demeanor had certainly showed her that he would, by no means, be going easy on her. The look in his eyes was so vicious and determined that she had trouble trying to leap off the edge of the building until precisely the last second.

She had spoken so boldly of the easy feat he would be, and in result to that he had released an anger that was almost lethal. Nagisa didn't have time for this. She had to find Kaze no Orenji; the Seventh Hokage. She knew his exact location, as she'd managed to pinpoint it earlier and as far as she could tell he hadn't moved an inch.

But this was an Uchiha…a remnant of her clan and another with whom she shared the same blood. 

Nagisa's eyes narrowed as she accelerated her running pace. The two of them had launched into a full-scale chase to the death with only a simple exchange of words. Some Nagisa thought, as of now, she probably shouldn't have said. The breeze behind her had suddenly subsided, as she felt her new hunter closing in on her. She was just within arm's length of him, more than enough closed distance for him to run the blade of that shiny sword right through her, if murder was his true intention. Did he really mean to ignore the orders he'd been given? He'd been told not to attack her, and he'd been hesitant to comply, but now it seemed as though that action had been all but a false sign of truce. 

Nagisa had to keep her wits about her. If this man truly intended to murder her upon first chance, she would definitely have to fight him off. She couldn't afford to die on this mission. Not while Itachi was patiently awaiting her return. Open arms...smiling eyes... 

There was no way she could lose; she would have to use the Sharingan. 

A garnet eclipsed halved the twin spheres of her onyx eyes, and soon became two full red moons. From her jacket, the kunoichi pulled a kunai out and swiftly turned to face her opponent with a power now equal to his. A smirk played on his lips, his eyes narrowing as the clash of their weapons reverberated in the warm afternoon air. 

"So you've finally decided to get serious, huh?" he said with a dark chuckle. His mocking tone made Nagisa's jaw clench, suddenly furious that he was fending her off so effortlessly. 

"Not quite sure what you mean," she replied, taking a step in to further her exertion. He seemed to be letting up, as the blade no longer forced against the kunai in her hand. "I was having a lot of fun with your handsome friend." 

"Handsome friend?" Sasuke scoffed. "What's wrong? Is your new opponent not as _attractive_?" 

Nagisa allowed her head to fall forward, her shoulders shaking in an uncontrollable laughter. "_Please_," she whispered before regaining herself. The edge of her weapon ground against the silver blade, eliciting a rather irritating, metallic screech. The man, appearing to greatly dislike the abuse of his shiny toy drew back the sword and thrust it forward, but Nagisa was out of harm's way before it could reach its destination. 

She was running again, but this time not away from him. She was leading him along and whether he seemed to know this or not, it didn't show. He was so driven on capturing her, so hot on her heels that the thought of jutsu had so fortunately not occurred to him yet. Tucking the steel kunai back inside her coat, Nagisa leapt to the next roof, flying over a wide gap between the two buildings where she momentarily sailed across the air. She began the appropriate hand seals for the very first, through probably not last jutsu she would use in their quarrel. It seemed as though he hadn't taken notice, and with this, Nagisa currently held the upper hand. 

White chakra emanated from the female Uchiha's fingertips as she rose a hand to her mouth, cupping it there as to properly guide a blast of oncoming flames. The smoldering fire burst forth towards her unsuspecting opponent, white flames licking ravenously at the hems of his dark clothing. He'd managed to escape her a little less than exactly the right moment, but unfortunately no damage had been done. 

A smirk traced up on the lips of Sasuke's female opponent. Finally, she'd begun to act seriously, though her shinobi skills proved to be a little on the dull side. Perhaps it had been because of a most startling discovery. Had she come unaware of the existence of another Uchiha? And where the hell _did_ she come from, anyway? Not only was she there existing with impossibility before his eyes, but she was also a kunoichi...a _female_ Uchiha, and they were here battling it out toe to toe! The smart thing to have done from the start would have been to attempt some kind of loop holed compromise. That, or trap her in some sort of jutsu while her Sharingan had been deactivated. However, Sasuke was simply not the compromising type, so it would probably be best to go with the latter. 

According to Shikamaru's warning, Naruto had ordered for the refrain of any physical attacks. What had led him to believe that an Uchiha, arrogant and so fleetingly impulsive would ever think to return the favor? Then again, she _had_ provoked him…

The wild game of tag had finally come to a draw though, and the male Sharingan user simply had to confirm the extent of her powers. He claimed he would kill her, but he knew there were too many reasons why he shouldn't. He decided to feign killing intent in this battle, and entrap her in a genjutsu when she began to show signs of fatigue. Unlike his Sharingan, hers was imperfect; pure, as they'd been set in stone to be from the moment of birth… 

Sasuke couldn't possibly destroy something with so much potential. He needed to analyze her thoroughly. He wanted her; he envied her, even though he wasn't sure if he had any reason. 

She had escaped him again.

Barely making a clean flee as his sword had swung out as if to impale her though the stomach. Perhaps it was his lack of objection behind his movements, or maybe she was just that swift. Sasuke was gradually becoming frustrated by her feminine giggles her sultry expressions, and the taunting tone of her voice scarily quick as their battle progressed. She was baiting him into an aggression that, had it not so long ago become permanently subdued by the bonds that he'd retied and the added bit of inner peace, he would have submitted himself to at the very beginning. No, Sasuke now possessed a firmer sense of self-control. 

There were still times where he would find himself shooting his mouth off angrily at his rivaling blond friend or anyone else that deliberately got in his way, but none of it would ever provoke him into a physical fight. 

No woman had ever been so crafty, as to subdue Sasuke into a heated struggle with himself, and despite even in this most critical and unforeseen twist of events, he was not about to break that continuous record. Sasuke Uchiha would conquer the daring quintessence of his haughty, female counterpart and drag her back to the Seventh Hokage. The words of the silent promise held tight to his memory. Whatever else was to come in store for the last female Uchiha depended solely upon the village's final decision.

Just as his own fate had been decided. 

With all of these thoughts swirling around in Sasuke's mind, he had somehow managed to narrowly dodge a blast of fierce white flames with the heavy intent of burning his entire essence into ash. Her dexterity had suddenly grown more refined, no longer a diamond in the rough but a jewel, gleaming with beauty. Not just in her physique, but in her every fluid movement. She moved in such a graceful manner, Sasuke found himself suddenly more concentrated on every turn of her body, rather than the actual jutsu she was projecting at him. 

He hadn't wanted their fight to go on for this long. From what he could conclude, the extent of the woman's jutsu ranged basically from fire-based attacks; all pure white flames. Of course, every shinobi had a hidden weapon. Something told Sasuke that, with the depleting amount of fight left within her he was about to see hers soon. 

Not long after another round of spiraling flames being spat in his direction, the woman had finally come to a rest. Her posture became lax, the front half of her body bending over with her hands on her knees and panting as if she were nearly out of breath. While her body clearly showed that it was starting to tire, the expression in her eyes simply told Sasuke that in no way, was she ready to call it quits.

Unbelievable.

Sasuke let out a slight chuckle. He was very impressed with his opponent's stamina. However, he didn't feel like dragging her unconscious body back to Naruto. This had to end with her willingly walking away with him, or not at all. Maybe a little verbal exchange was in order. Sasuke decided to try his luck. 

Sliding the long-bladed sword back into its sheath, the male Uchiha sighed and crossed his arms. The woman still held her glower strong to his form, as if somehow she could make him incinerate just by staring him down. He took this moment to study her feature; Inky black hair that came in different lengths around her shoulders. Her dark fringe hung across her forehead, clipped away with twin silver pins, and two black finger streaks of war paint lined the left side of her cheek. 

"Hey," he called, placing a hand against his hip. "So, do you have a name? I've taken an interest in you. You're a skillful opponent, and I thought it'd be nice to at least know your name," Sasuke finished with more awkwardness than he imagined, and scratched the back of his hair. 

Hearing the young man's voice, Nagisa got to her feet while stumbling a bit at first. He wanted to know her name? A shrill laugh escaped her lips, and she stared at the man from the distance between them.

"Why," She humored him, "not sure what to put on my grave stone?" 

"Yeah, something like that," the man replied, nearly rolling his eyes. The sun was starting to set in the sky, leaving their profiles concealed by a veil of shadows. "Look," the male Uchiha said, stiffly uncrossing his arms. "I don't want to play this game with you anymore. I have a lot of questions for you, and I'm sure you have a lot for me. Just come quietly and we can—"

"Nagisa," Nagisa mumbled. Sasuke arched a dark eyebrow. 

"What?" 

"Nagisa!" she repeated, loudly. "My name is Nagisa!" 

Nagisa; so that was her name. 

"Well, Nagisa," Sasuke sighed. "I really had fun chasing you around the entire village, wasting absurd amounts of chakra while you laughed, giggled and a bunch of other annoying bullshit I can't bother to recall." 

"Yeah?" the kunoichi replied. "Glad I could entertain you, but I have other things to do now—"

"Sasuke," Sasuke said. "My name is Sasuke." 

Nagisa just gave an indifferent shrug as she dusted herself off and then stood. "Cool story, bro. So um, if we're done here—"

"My friend would like to meet you," Sasuke pressed on. He'd decided, despite how uncharacteristic it was, he would take on an entirely new approach. The persistent approach; the Naruto approach

And for whatever reason, it began to work. 

"Your friend?" Nagisa repeated, hands sliding down to rest on her hips. This man was quickly changing his tune. The smoldering anger behind his eyes had seemingly been extinguished. His sudden change in demeanor left the female Uchiha curious and a little unnerved. "Hn...So, who is this friend, then?" 

Sasuke bit his lip, fighting a smirk. She had take bait, then. Maybe he'd try this approach more often; or maybe not. "He's the leader of this village. If you want our Hokage, I can assure you that he won't allow himself to be taken so easily. He'll do everything in his power and put up a fight before you can get your hands on him. Even then, you probably won't be able to leave with him. He'll turn the tables on you quickly before you could ever realize what's happening. Plus, he's annoying and you'd probably want to send him back," the Uchiha added as an afterthought. 

Sasuke recalled the time where this had happened to him three years ago. It was on the battlefield in the forth shinobi war. The loud-mouthed blond had gone on and on about how Sasuke was so important to him. The Uchiha had been too far gone. Too arrogant and attached to power to realize that the bonds he thought he'd severed were in fact, forever intact. He could run to all the ends of the earth and still, Naruto wouldn't hesitate to chase him. The conclusion that Sasuke had come to that day was that the bond between friends could never truly be destroyed. He'd made his decision to kill the future Hokage, but it was to no avail. 

Through all the truths and all the physical and emotional confliction, Sasuke had finally allowed himself to open and listen to his former friend. With his brother dead and having learned the truth, any further course of spiteful action was simply futile. Sasuke had lost his reason for life in that moment. But Naruto had given him a new one. 

"You can run and or fight me all you want, but the only way you're going to win is if you leave this village now," Sasuke continued. "I can't promise I won't come looking for you later. There are things I want to know, and like I said, I'm sure you're just as curious. So drop your bigoted act for a while. and just come with me." 

Just come with him? Where did this guy get off, trying to be assertive and friendly to her all of a sudden? Not moments ago, they'd been in a heated spar to the death. He planned to kill her; he'd told her, himself. So just what the hell was he getting at now? There was only one person that could show her compassion like this... only one. 

"Hm…" Nagisa turned back to the Sasuke. "Why are you changing your tune?" 

"I don't know," he answered honestly. Perhaps it had been these past few years that had allowed his blond friend's benevolent charisma to finally rub off on him. Was such a thing even possible? He guessed that after all that had happened, it probably was. 

"Come on, Nagisa," Sasuke said, hoping that adding her name would somehow show his attempt at sincerity. The woman still wore an expression of disdain, but even that was a mild improvement compared to the recent scowl she'd been giving him. 

"Your Hokage..." she mumbled. "He's...he's...a nice person?" 

"Yeah," Sasuke replied. He took a daring leap across the two buildings that stood between them. Now that he was closer, he could easily read her features. She was contemplating. Just one more push could either cause her to give in, or have her with her claws out. 

Sasuke decided he would take a gamble. 

"He won't punish you. He's way too benevolent for his own good. He's..." the Uchiha felt his cheeks burn at the thought of his next words. 

"He's my best friend," 

The remainder of Nagisa's uncertainty seemed to suddenly melt away. "Best friend? You're the Hokage's best friend?" 

A scowl threatened to overcome Sasuke's mild expression. "W-well...yeah." 

"Let's go," the kunoichi urged hastily. Her words nearly floored him. _Really_? He thought, grumbling inwardly as she grabbed onto his hand. _That was all it took?_

He suddenly felt flustered at the feeling of another being pulling him along. It was something a certain, pink haired female would attempt to do so many years ago, though he was heavily relieved when she'd begun to pursue another man. While Sasuke held no particular interest for any women at all in the village, he didn't mind engaging in small talk with them now and then. Sasuke was also well against any form of physical contact with any gender, of any sort. 

…For whatever reason. 

As the woman he fought so fiercely with now pulled him off the roof to run through the streets of the village, Sasuke stared at the familiar fan symbol on the back of her fluttering blue coat. 

"Come on!" she called over her shoulder, jerking him forward as he stumbled along. Sasuke's brows knit in slight irritation. 

"What do you mean, come on? You don't even know where you're going, you idiot," 

"I do!"

He was too out of breath to argue with her. Something else was also troubling the Uchiha; something besides the clammy feeling of their hands, and the physical fatigue that had begun to make his body feel heavy. Was it the way she was running around so fast, pulling him along at the same speed that was making his heart hammer? Was it the sound of her laughter that only resurfaced familiar habits, mumbling things such as idiot and moron? What was happening to all of his verbal confidence? 

Sasuke couldn't wrap his mind around his current predicament. He could only remain slack jawed as the strange, blue eyed woman tugged him through the streets of Konoha. Once again, the tables had been turned on him.

**TBC**


End file.
